Bolt turning machine and the like



March 16, 1937. K R 2,073,967

BOLT TURNING MACHINEAND THE LTKE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1932 6Sheets-Sheet l Mi 5 iii INVENTOR.

BY I V Y %+4% ATTORNEY.

March 16,1937. A. KIEFER 2,073,967

BOLT TURNING MACHINE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1 932 6Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY March 16, 1937. A, KEFER 2 ,073,967

BOLT TURNING MACHINE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1932 6Sheets-Sheet 3 H H* l vBY %AQL% ATTORNEY.

March 16, 1937. A, EFER 2,073,967

BOLT TURNING MACHINE AND THE LIKE Original Filed Dec. 12, 1932 6Sheets-Sheet 4 44, ATTORNEY.

March 16, 1937. ,A. KIEFER I BOLT TURNING MACHINE.AND THE LIKE OriginalFiled Dec. 12, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 16, 1937 TL TURNING MACHINE AND THE LIKE Albcrt Kiefer,.Cincinnati, hio, assignor to The Hisey-Wolf. Machine Ohio, apartnership composed of Walter .I. Friedlanderand John December 12,1932, Serial No.

Renewed April 1, 1935 1: y Application Company, Cincinnati,

W. Friedlander Claims. (c1;v 192-450) Myinvention relates to theprovision of a machine primarily forqthe purpose of turning down voperation without any shock or jar to the operator of the machine. a Inmachines used. at present forthe turning downcf bolts, as for examplainautomobile factories, the torque is. applied to the .bolt head with anamount of power depending upon the pressure applied by the operator withthe ma chine. Thus, the uniformity with which the bolts ,are driven.home is dependent upon a variable human element. In the next place, whenthe bolts are driven homeby the mechanisms in use at present, there is aviolent jerk which results in the mechanism jumping away from the boltin opposition to the force applied to it by the operator. As a result,practiced operators cancrew of men must turn about. According to. myinvention, as noted above, the torque applied to the bolt is of uniformquanbe employed, taking turn and throw out of thernachine'operateswithout shock to the operator. I q r The throw out mechanism employed byme consists of a caxnmember axially. movable and op-- posed by ameasured force, such as aregulatable compressionspiral spring. This cammember, which in the' preferred form isaclutch like memher having spiralcut teeth, does not itself re-,

lease its driving function, throws out another clutch and the drivingmotor.

It is one of my objects to provide a remote control for the machinelocated adjacent the bolt-engaging chuck, this being in the form of amomentary contact switch which makes and breaks a circuit to a mastersolenoid that throws in and latches the clutch. The driving motorremains in operation at all times. It is my object in connection withthe remote control, to provide a switch for a second solenoid which willtrip the latch when desired.

I have provided in connection with the various mechanisms for a simpleand powerful construction readily manufactured and assembled and 50highly-fool-proof in operation.

My mechanism is to be distinguished from safety couplings or releaseclutches where the releasable member rides out of operative relation,

since such a mechanism would be impractical in 55s. bolt turning machinewhich requires a powerbut by its movement interposed between it notoperate ,these machines continuously, and a" tity controlled by themachine itself and the ful and adequate clutch which itself is operatedby a member which forms part of the driving train, but which of itselfis never removed from driving relation.

I have illustrated in the drawings a typical 5 embodiment of myinvention, and I now refer to the appended claims in which I have setforth the essentials in mechanisms such as the one illustrated which arerequired to accomplish my objects. In other words, I will describe mypreferred mechanisms in detail, and refer to the claims for thosegeneralizations which will indicate to the man skilled in the art theessential elements of said illustrated embodiment.

In the drawings:-

Figure l is a side elevation of my machine.

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of the machine, from whichthe chuck and flexible shaft have been omitted.

FigureB is a plan view, partly section, of the machine.

Figure 4 is a front end elevation of the machine. I

Figure 5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view of the torque control spring.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 'l-l of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a section of the parts shown in Figure 7, but at rightangles thereto.

Figure 9 is a detail of the clutch latch lever.

Figure 10 is a. detail section of the remote control switch.

Figure 11 is a detail of the flexible drive shaft.

. Figure 12 is a plan and elevation of one of the long links.

Figure 13 is a plan and elevation of one of the short links of theflexible shaft driving elements.

Referring first to the elevation of the entire machine, I is an electricmotor; 2, the main casing of the machine to which is pivoted a yoke 3 tobe suitably suspended, thereby giving mobility to the apparatus; 4 is ahousing for the main clutch operating solenoid; 5, the external lever ofthe main clutch yoke; 6, the main spring which pulls the said lever intoa normal position with the main clutch open; I is the casing for theflexible operating shaft; 9 is the chuck housing; 9a, the chuck; and IDthe casing for the remote control switch.

In operating the device, the operator holds the chuck housing in hishand and presses the switch operating lever II. This energizes themagnet in the housing 4 which pulls over the lever 5, thereby engagingthe main driving clutch. The 5 in horizontal is a detail section on theline 5-5 motor is always in operation when the machine is running, andthe engagement of the clutch causes the chuck to revolve. The chuck isthen applied to a nut and held there until the nut is turned down astightly as the machine is set to accomplish, whereupon the releasingmechanism located within the machine trips the latch which has beenholding the parts controlled by the lever 5, and permits the spring 5 topull the lever 5 over, thus opening the clutch. I

As I will describe, a depression of the member II will release themachine for one operation only, and the clutch is opened without any Jarto the operator when the required torque has been applied by means ofthe chuck Furthermore, the release of the main operating clutch ispositive and accompanied by no preceding diminution in the power appliedto the flexible shaft and chuck. Referring particularly to Figures 2 and3, the main housing portion 2 has a boss I! in which is a roller bearingl3, and has attached at the opposite end a ring member ll having a bossI5 in which is another roller bearing l5. The flexible shaft has at itsinner end a member H which is secured to the end of a stub shaft itsupported in the bearing ll.

As indicated more clearly in Figure 5, a toothed cup I! is secured onthe inner end of the stub 0 shaft. The toothed cup I! meshes withanother toothed cup 20, which cup has a sleeve portion 2| splined to theend 22 of the main-shaft 23 of the device. The shaft 23 terminates at 24within the clutch,'and is coaxial with the shaft 25 of 35 the drivingmotor.

There is a transverse partition generally indicated at 25 which formspart of the main casing 2, and where the shaft passes through thispartition it is provided with discs 21 to prevent oil 40 leakage. Themaster clutch which I have illustrated is the one shown in United StatesPatent No. 1,753,085, to which reference is made for its operation. Anyother suitable friction clutch can be substituted for the particular onethat I v 45 have selected.

Referring toFigures 2 and 8, the master clutch includes a grooved collar25, a cam flnger 29, friction disc assembly held in a housing II. Thehousing 3! is supported in the roller hearso ing i5, and is splined tothe motor shaft 25. In-

stead of a double clutch, as shown in the patent to which I havereferred, I provide at the forward end of the clutch a relatively fewfriction discs 32 to act as a brake when the clutch collar is thrown toopen position. I also utilize the housing II to drive a gear 33 whichoperates an oil pump 34 by means of a shaft 35. This oil is confined tothat portion of the housing which surrounds the master clutch.

Referring back to the toothed cups l9 and 20,

it should be noted that these cups have spiral engaging faces 35 in thedriving direction, which is illustrated as being clockwise in Figure 5.The cup 20, when the rotation of the cup I! is prevented, rides awayfrom mesh position in a spiral manner so as to move to the right on thesplined end 22 of the main shaft in the illustrated embodiment of themachine. Mounted on the sleeve 2| of the toothed cup 20 is a bearing 31which mounts the sleeve portion 38 of a grooved collar 35. The bearingand the parts 38 and 39 move with the cup 20 along the splined shaft, anut ll being used to hold together the sleeve or hub 2|, the bearing 31,and the sleeve portion 38 7 of the collar .38. located around the sleeveportion 88 and bearing against the collar portion ll is a spiral spring4|, which spring is arranged with a lead so that these spiralconvolutions are increasingly far apart. Such a spring opposes a forcetending to collapse it with a fairly constantly increasing force, whichis quite necessary in the present device. The spring II also bearsagainst the inner end 42 of a housing 43, and the housing is threadedinto a circular flange 44 of the partition 25. This housing has gearteeth 45 which mesh with a gear 45. The gear is mounted on a shaft 41which projects through the front face of the casing, where it isprovided with a head for the application of a wrench.

The purpose of this last mentioned construction is to enable theoperator to adjust the tension of the spring 4| since, as the housing 45is threaded to the right for example in the illustrated embodiment, thiswill tend to collapse the spring ll and thus increase its force appliedagainst movement of the collar 30 and the parts which move with it,including the toothed cup Referring now to the operation of the machinewhen the chuck is being driven to turn down a nut or bolt, the cup 20will start in full mesh with the cup I9, and will drive the cup i9, andthrough it the flexible shaft which extends to the chuck. When the boltis turned down, the cup 20 continues to apply a torque to the cup i9,and at the same time to move along the shaft portion 22 axially, thuspressing the spring 4|. The greater the compression that must beovercome in the spring ll, the more force the cup 20 will apply to thecup I9 before the former has a any retrograde movement. when the cup 20has moved back, however, the predetermined distance, the collar 38 willaccomplish a release of the master clutch as will be described.

The movement of the cup 20 will not be willcient to disengage thesaidcup from the cup I8, and as the cup 20 moves to'the right it does notcease to apply its full driving force to the cup is.

By this means, the torque applied to a bolt or nut by the machine can becontrolled with a large degree of accuracy, and can be adjusted byadjusting the preliminary compression of the spring, as has beendescribed.

To hold the bearing IS in place at the front end of the casing, Ipreferably employ a heavy spririg 49 held in place by a cap 50, so as toapply a cushioned backing to the cup member I9.

The clutch latch and release Referring to Figures 2, 3, and '7. I haveindicated a clutch yoke 5| having arms Sla and shoes 52 which engage inthe clutch collar 28. This clutch yoke 5| is supported in bosses 53, 53,in the sides of the main casing on suitable trunnions, one of them beingof special nature. This special trunnion has a squared end 54 engaging asocket in the yoke, a rounded portion 55 mounted in the boss 53 and heldagainst sliding by a set screw 54a, and a squared portion 56 on which ismounted the lever 5, to which reference has already been made, saidlever serving to operate the yoke.

The central portion of the yoke within the casing is provided with aslotted lug 51 in which is mounted a. latch plate 58, the arrangementbeing such that when the yoke is rocked with its upper end forwardly toapply the clutch, the latch bar will hold the yoke in this positionuntil released. The latch bar is shown by itself in Figure 9, andconsists of a long bar 59 pivoted at in the rear part of the maincasing, and having a notched portion 6| serving as a latch to engage themember 58. The forward end of the latch bar is bent at 62 and terminatesin a roller 88. By reference to Figure 3 it will be noted that thisroller is mounted on a stud 64 which extends through the end of the bar59 and mounts a lever 65. By means of this lever, as will be described,the latch bar can be operated independently of the torque release thathas already been described.

The latch bar is held down by means of a spring 68 engaging a pad 61 onthe portion 82 of the latch bar. The latch bar also passes through thecentral partition 28, and I have shown a shield 68 mounted on the latchbar to prevent oil from being dashed into the forward part of thecasing.

The latch bar is lifted to release the clutch yoke of the master clutchby means of a clutch yoke 89 having trunnions 69a in the casing, andhaving legs with shoes 69b in the grooved collar portion 39. The yoke 69has a rearwardly slanting central arm I0 which mounts a roller II at itsupper end. This roller lies under the roller 63 on the latch bar, thearrangement being such that when the collar 39 is moved rearwardly or tothe right in the illustrated showing, the yoke 69 is rocked so as tothrust the roller II upwardly, thereby raising the end of the latch bar.As has been described, this releases the yoke of the master clutch,permitting the clutch to open.

Referring now to the auxiliary means for raising the latch bar, thelever 65 which, as has been noted, is mounted on the end of the latchbar, is secured fast to a stub shaft I2 which extends out through thetop of the main casing, where it is engaged by a link I3. The link I3 issecured by means ofanother link I4 to the solenoid stem I5. The solenoidis housed in a casing I6 independent of the main casing, but securedthereon, and consists of a coil TI and an E-shaped solenoid armature 18arranged to slide in the casing and connected to the stem I5. 9

With this construction, an energizing of the coil 11 will withdraw thearmature I8 inwardly, pull the link I3 to the right, rock the lever 65to the left, and lift the latch bar.

In connection with the yoke 69, in order to avoid any shock or jar whenthis yoke is rocked to lift the latch bar, I provide an abutment I9backed up by a spring 80 located in a suitable socket in the maincasing.

The main solenoid Referring more particularly to Figures 3 and 7, itwill be noted that in the solenoid case 4 there is mounted a coil 8| anda sliding E-Shaped armatu're 82, the stem 83 of which is forked.Pivotally secured in the stem 83 is a link 84 which is acted on by aspring 85 which tends to hold the armature in its retracted position.The link 04 is slotted, as shown at 86 in Figure 1, and the externaloperating lever 5 for the master clutch yoke is bifurcated as at 8 1 soas to accommodate a stud 00 that passes through the slot in the link.The stud also provides a mounting groove 89 for the main spring 0, thearrangementbeing such that the spring 6 tends to hold the lever 5 inposition to hold the main clutch open.

Starting with the machine in condition for operation with the motor Irotating and the master clutch in its. spring-held position, theoperator closes the circuit to the main solenoid coil 8i for an instant.This draws the link 84 toward the solenoid case 4 and pulls over themain clutch lever to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1 at511. This operates the clutch yoke so as to engage the clutch and drivethe chuck. When the yoke is pulled over the latch plate 58 rides behindthe latch plate 6| on the latch bar 59 which holds the clutch in itsoperative position until the latch bar is raised by the mechanism whichhas already been described.

The flexible shaft, chuck and switch The casing of the flexible shaftwhich has been indicated at I, is flanged at 90 so as to be engaged andheld in place by the cover plate 50. The flexible shaft itself is formedof any standard design, the one I have selected consisting of long links9| and short links 92, the long links having rounded heads 93 whichenter rounded pockets 94 in the short links. The terminal member II ofthe flexible shaft is directly connected to the stub shaft I8, as hasbeen described.

As has been noted, a chuck housing 9 and switch case l0 are secured onthe flexible shaft casing I adjacent the end of the shaft. The housing 9provides for roller bearings 95 and 98 for the chuck spindle 91terminating in the hollow chuck indicated at 9a. The switch member inthe casing I0 may be of any standard make which will provide a momentarycontact and no more upon each depression of the actuating member.

In the form shown, there is a dielectric block 98 which. slides againstspring tension on a pair of posts 99. The block carries at its rear enda finger I00 with a contact bar IOI at its lower end. A spring I02,bearing against the under side of the block 98, presses on the contactmember, holding it down. A member I 03 on the finger I00 limits thedownward movement of the contact member so that when the block 98 is inits upward position, no contact is established. The block 98 isdepressed to make a contact by means of a plunger I04 which is normallyheld in upward position by a spring I05. The plunger engages a lip I06on a pivoted latch I 01 which is formed of two parallel plates whichstraddle the plunger I04. When the plunger is depressed, it will movethe block 98 downwardly and establish contact; but a full depression ofthe plunger will cause the end of the latch I01 to strike an abutmentI08, thus rocking the latch, and move the lip I08 rearwardly away fromengagement with the plunger I04. This permits the entire block andswitch contact to be moved upwardly independent of whether the plungeris held down or not.

As a convenient method of operating the plunger, I provide a bell cranklever I09 in the casing I0, and another bell crank lever I I0 whichengages one end of the lever I09, so that by depression of the leverIIO, which the operator can readily accomplish with the hand that isholding the chuck housing, the lever I09 is rocked so as to depress theplunger. As already noted, this will cause a momentary contact which isat once broken, so that the operator, by holding down on the member IIO,cannot effect the operation of the device. The short period of contactof the switch is suflicient, however, to energize the main solenoid, andthus throw in the master clutch.

In addition to the main switch I provide another switch, in the form ofa snap button switch III, in the casing, which closes the circuit to thelatch bar raising solenoid 11, so that the operator can, if anythinggoes wrong, stop the operation of the machine.

It is not believed to be necessary to state again the operation of thevarious parts of the device, since this has been done as the descriptionhas progressed. It will be apparent that various 5 modifications can bemade in the structure described without departing from the novelelements and combinations of elements which the structure illustrates.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casinghaving an apertured partition across the same. a friction clutch, a

5 motor, and a shaft extending from the clutch at one side of thepartition, said shaft extending through the aperture of the partition, atorque release forming part of the transmission from said shaft to themember to be driven at the other 20 side of the partition, and meansmounted in the aperture around the shaft, preventing passage of oil fromthe clutch side of the casing to the torque release side thereof.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of a casinghaving a partition across the same, a friction clutch, a motor, and ashaft extending from the clutch at one side of the partition, said shaftextending through the partition, a torque release forming part of thetransmission from said shaft to the member to be driven at the otherside of the casing, and means for preventing passage of oil from theclutch side of the casing to the torque release side thereof,

said clutch having an operating yoke, a latch bar for said yoke to holdit in on position, said latch bar extending through the partition, andmeans for preventing oil from splashing through the partition alongsideof said latch bar.

3. In a device of the character described, the 40 combination of acasing having a partition across the same, a friction clutch, a motor,and a shaft extending from the clutch at one side of the partition, saidshaft extending through the partition, a torque release forming part ofthe trans- 45 mission from said shaft to the member to be driven at theother side of the casing, and means for preventing passage of oil fromthe clutch side of the casing to the torque release side thereof, anelectromagnetic member for operating the 50 clutch, said member locatedoutside of the casing, a yoke for the clutch located within the casing,one of the trunnions of the yoke being extended through the casing forinterlinkage with the said electromagnetic member.

4. In a machine of the character described. comprising a casing, a motormounted at one end of the casing, a chuck rotatably connected to theopposite end of the casing, and a master clutch in said casing,connected to the motor, 50 means tendingto bring said clutch intoinoperative condition, a shaft connected to the motor by the masterclutch, mutually engaging members relatively rotatable coaxially withthe master clutch and connected to the shaft and the chuck,respectively, having their engaging surfaces adapted to slip one on theother under increased load on the chuck, and means contained in saidcasing including a latch restraining the master clutch in operativecondition to transmit the motion from the motor to said shaft, and anoperative connection from the latch to one of said members, operative torelease the latch after a desired degree of slippage of the members, andthereby allow the master clutch to be brought into its inoperativecondition, the two members having their mutually slipping surfacesinclined at an angle to the line of movement imparted to the one memberdue to the slippage, which angle decreases as the slippa e progresses,and in which said one member is resisted by a spring constructed tomaintain a substantially uniform resistance to the movement of themember as the slippage progresses.

5. In a machine of the character described, comprising a casing, a motormounted at one end of the casing, a chuck rotatably connected to theopposite end of the casing, and a master clutch in said casing,connected to the motor, means tending to bring said clutch intoinoperative condition, a shaft connected to the motor by the masterclutch, mutually engaging members relatively rotatable coaxially withthe master clutch and connected to the shaft and the chuck,respectively, having their engaging surfaces adapted to slip one on theother under increased load on the chuck, and means contained in saidcasing including a latch restraining the master clutch in operativecondition to transmit the motion from the motor to said shaft, and anoperative connection from the latch to one of said members, operative torelease the latch after a desired degree of slippage of the members, andthereby allow the master clutch to be brought into its inoperativecondition, the casing having a partition between the clutch and themutually sliding members, and in which the latch connection includes aswinging element extending through said partition, said partition havingan extension surrounding said element in the part of the casingenclosing the clutch, and said element having an extension surroundingthe partition extension, the extensions being spaced from each other andthe partition extension being spaced from said element to allow theswinging of the element, and by their relation being adapted to hinderpassage of oil from the clutch containing part of the casing to thatpart containing the mutually sliding members.

ALBERT mm.

